MUMBAI: As soon as Telugu Titans completed a thumping 36-27 win over Dabang Delhi, Meraj Sheykh raised his hands in triumph and celebrated football-style with a few springy somersaults around the mat. The Iranian, who was signed by Titans for Rs 20.1 lakh this year, had been on the field for the entire 40 minutes and was easily the heartbeat of the team in their opening Pro Kabaddi League encounter at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel stadium here on Sunday.
Titan’s captain Rahul Chaudhari later said that the international experience that Meraj and fellow Iranian Hadi Oshtorak brought to the team was invaluable. But the communication lines weren’t always clear.
“It is quite difficult to converse with them,” said Chaudhari, whose team put up an almost flawless performance on the day, from beginning to end.
The 27-year-old Meraj is a man of few words, but exudes confidence and aggression. After conducting a perfect raid, where he won his team three points, he got up, raised a fist and then went on setting his hair to its intended semi-mohawk style. The embodiment of cool.
“I started out as a wrestler,” the Iranian said. “Kabaddi happened only once I was 18 or 19, mainly because everyone in Sistan (the city he hails from) plays kabaddi. Wrestling is a very good base for kabaddi since it helps in body positioning, being alert and aggressive.”
Even though Iran has recently risen in prominence in the kabaddi world and is threatening India at the top, they have a long history in the game and players like Meraj and Hadi are helping it take it further.
U Mumba Win
In the second game of the day, last year’s runners-up and hosts U Mumba carved out an impressive 36-23 victory over Bengaluru Bulls for their second straight win.
Having bettered last year’s champions Jaipur Pink Panthers by a solitary point in a thriller, the Mumbai team had things well in control against Bulls.
